Kakashi and Mei's attempts to go out on "regular" dates were like an academy student chucking kunai at a practice board: some were hits and some were not. It wasn't even entirely their fault! The Hokage and Mizukage "going out" was practically a political event. Interest in their public dates ranged from lingering glances to interviews from various villagers. And although Kakashi encouraged people to approach him with questions and concerns during his public walks, people saw no difference in approaching their Hokage while he was out to dinner.

"Maybe I should wear a sign that says, 'Hokage off-duty'," Kakashi suggested one day behind closed doors.

"I'm sure that would go over well," Mei replied with a raised eyebrow. "It isn't just the innocent questions. Those I don't mind. But it's hard to have a date when people are dying to overhear what we discuss."

"We may as well stay inside if we can't be left alone to enjoy each other's company." Kakashi agreed. He was stretched out on the floor since Mei's couch was too short to accommodate him. It had been a long day but it was nice to discuss a mundane problem like their dating venue situation. It was better than clan disagreements or building permits.

"Do you have any ideas?" Mei asked.

"I could get my team to run guard duty? They wouldn't be allowed to let anyone within a certain distance of us." Kakashi offered to the ceiling.

Mei smiled. "Yes, they'd be all too happy to stand guard, and even more eager to listen in on our conversation than your standard villager. Besides, that would close out most restaurants."

"That's true," Kakashi chuckled. "We could henge into other people when we're out?"

Mei nodded thoughtfully. "It's an idea, but what if we're caught?"

"Anyone skillful enough to see through the illusion is probably a personal friend of ours, so they'd hopefully leave us alone."

"Again, your students are possibly the most interested in eavesdropping. And aren't they still trying to see your face or something?"

"Did you get that from that library book?"

"Maybe." Mei tried her best to not look so guilty. It had been months since she'd checked that book out but Kakashi didn't seem like he was going to forget. Then, remembering something she'd seen a genin squad doing, she asked, "what if we volunteered at the animal shelter? We could walk dogs!"

"You want to do a D-rank mission for a date?" Kakashi clarified. He turned to look at his wife. She was reclining on her couch opposite him.

"If you want to put it that way, yes," Mei replied.

"No one is going to let the Hokage and Mizukage do a D-rank mission," Kakashi pointed out.

"I've been thinking about what you said. What if we henged so we looked like genin? You could even count it as work, you said you wanted to take on some missions to ease the workload of your forces!"

"I meant A or S rank missions," Kakashi replied. "But as I'm always telling the academy students, any contribution is better than no contribution." Kakashi nodded. "Let's try it. I'll arrange it for say, next Thursday? After my office hours are over?"

The appointed day arrived with no sudden crisis or schedule change to stop them. Once they had gotten used to their disguises, the pair headed to the mission desk. Kakashi had arranged for his henged self to pick up their mission. The chunin working the desk didn't know why the Hokage had taken an interest in these two genin, but his reasons were his own. They handed over the D-ranked mission without much thought.

Mei skipped down the street in her 12-year-old form.

"Can you attempt to look dignified? You're supposed to be on a mission," Kakashi complained.

"Are you worried I'll give your ninja a bad reputation?" Mei teased. Even so, she stopped skipping.

Kakashi's face softened. "I'm sorry, I know we're supposed to be-" he cut himself off as they passed another couple. "We're supposed to be on a date," he finished in a whisper. "But we're on a mission as well."

"A mission to walk puppies," Mei argued. "Loosen up."

They were not walking puppies. The pair soon found out that there were certain dogs at the shelter that no one wanted to walk due to their size and inclination to bolt. Mei, of course, wanted to challenge herself, and immediately requested that she walk one of those. Kakashi simply felt bad that no one had walked these particular dogs in awhile.

"Hold onto him," one volunteer called out a final warning. Kakashi and Mei had their charges on leads and were headed down the aisle of kennels. "Once you're outside the front gate, he'll head for the hills."

Kakashi had chosen an abnormally tall and slender German Shepherd mix that seemed nervous. He was extremely strong and had a tendency to run off. Nobody liked walking him. No one usually even tried. "We'll sort that out, won't we?" Kakashi gave the coarse fur a ruffle. The dog hopped around with nervous energy. He yanked his leash first one direction, then another, then he twisted his head, trying to slip his lead. They weren't even outside yet.

Mei had chosen the largest dog. The mutt simply pulled her continuously in whatever direction he wanted to go. Mei soon got her arm locked into a flexed position so all she had to do was use her strength to reign him in. Mostly though, the mastiff mix just wanted to be out for a walk where the smells were new. Kakashi ended up having the more interesting time.

Kakashi had to be focused on his dog at all times. It was a little like keeping track of Naruto, he mused. If the shepherd saw another dog, a person, a stick he didn't like, he charged in the other direction. It was all Kakashi could do to keep the dog from choking, slipping his collar, or tripping himself up. The Hokage in disguise kept having to reposition himself in relation to the animal, shift his grip, and use his whole body to haul against the leash if the dog tried to run.

"I haven't had to be that creative since my last workout with Guy," Kakashi commented as they left the shelter, their charges properly exercised and returned.

"Maybe I need to go work out with Guy," Mei said. It had been entertaining to watch Kakashi work. "Next time, I get the shepherd. My dog was pretty simple once I knew how to hold on."

"Next time?" Kakashi asked with a twinkle in his eye. It was strange seeing that from the 12 year-old face he'd chosen for his disguise.

"Don't you want to do that again?" Mei asked excitedly. "The volunteers seemed so relieved that we didn't lose them and the dogs themselves had a great time."

"Did you have a good time?" Kakashi asked.

"I did," Mei said brightly. "You?"

Kakashi nodded. "Alright, let's go get our pay."

"Pay?"

"We did a mission, now we'll be compensated."

Mei had completely forgotten about the monetary aspect of a mission. "Next time, let's just go and volunteer."

"As ourselves or as genin?"

That made Mei pause to think. The whole point was that their "dates" weren't obvious to everyone so that they wouldn't be hovered over. When it had just been them and the dogs on a trail, they'd been able to talk freely. It was nice. On the other hand, the Hokage and Mizukage walking shelter dogs would bring positive attention to the organization.

Kakashi seemed to understand what his wife was thinking. "I can bring attention to the shelter in official capacities. Let's keep our actual volunteering between us."

Mei agreed, secretly happy that she and Kakashi could share something else, just the two of them.

000000

True to her word, and despite Kakashi's well-meant warnings, Mei resolved to train with Might Guy. Mei hadn't known what to expect when she arrived at Training Ground 5, only that Kakashi gave her an odd look when he'd said goodbye that morning. That look had left her uneasy. It wasn't that Kakashi didn't think she could handle it, of that she was sure, he just seemed, worried? Nervous? Like he'd never see her again? She knew Kakashi trusted Guy with his life, so what was he concerned about? It didn't take Mei long to find out.

Training with Guy and Lee was unlike anything Mei had ever experienced. She would get to the point where she thought she couldn't go on, that her muscles would surely give out, and then Guy would switch them to a different exercise. The switch always rested her in some ways but exhausted her in new ones. The aim was clear and effective, she could keep going just a little bit longer.

All day it went on like that, Mei met her limit and pushed on. Sometimes she even waved at her limit as she flew by. It was exhausting and exhilarating and painful and brilliant. It was also surprisingly positive.

Most training Mei had experienced was punctuated with yelling, jeering, and physical violence. Guy and Lee hit her of course, but only when they were sparring or doing an exercise that required physical contact. There was no beating waiting for her if she didn't keep her knees up, no jets of water striking her in the back to quicken her pace, no slaps or kicks when she fell, and she fell a lot, especially when they did laps using their hands. She kept trying and was pleasantly surprised by Guy's encouragement, regardless of her abysmal performance. It was only when Tenten showed up with lunch that Mei got an outside look at what she was doing.

"I'm surprised you're still here," Tenten commented frankly. She handed out the boxed lunches and there was one for Mei!

"But you brought a box for me anyway?" Mei asked.

Tenten shrugged. "Someone would have eaten it. I wasn't about to short a kage their lunch."

"I didn't realize there was lunch coming," Mei replied.

Tenten gave her an odd look. "You'd train all day without eating?"

Was that such a strange concept? Mei suddenly wondered. It had been part of her conditioning in the Mist. They needed to know how they'd handle themselves if their supplies were stolen or they were cut off. Fighting on little to no food was something she'd been brought up doing.

Mei realized she shouldn't be surprised; Guy's training was one of the most difficult things she'd ever done but it was not truly unpleasant, if that made sense. Mei suddenly thought of Ao and almost laughed out loud. He'd thought Chojuro was coddled! How she would have liked to show Ao around the Leaf for a week. On the other hand, she reasoned, the Leaf had churned out most of the strongest ninja known to the world, so maybe their coddling wasn't meaningless. Mei shook herself out of her revere and got back to work.

Mei spent most of the day training with Guy and Lee. Sometimes they had other students drop in for an hour or so but usually it was just the three of them.

"I think that's enough for today," Guy called out when the sun started to set.

Mei blinked like an owl for a moment, taking in her wider surroundings. The sun had gotten low and the sky was turning a golden orange color. She'd developed a kind of hazy tunnel vision during the last few hours. It seemed as if the training would go on forever, as if her current challenge and the one to come after were all that remained in the world.

Mei straightened up, stretched, and then sat down against a convenient tree. When her butt hit the ground she realized she'd made a mistake. The retired Mizukage wasn't sure if she'd be able to get up again. As quickly as that thought hit her it drifted away. What did it matter if she didn't get up? She could sleep right there. Maybe this was where Kakashi got his sleep-anywhere training.

"Lady Mizukage, are you alright?" Lee asked, his voice was concerned without any condescension spoiling it.

Mei was nodding to the young man when she heard Guy say, "good evening my rival." Mei's eyes popped open at Kakashi's replied greetings. She'd worn training pants and gloves and bound up her hair, like he'd suggested, but she was hit with a practiced and deeply engrained anxiety. What would Kakashi think of the state she was in? She was sweatier than she'd ever been in her life. Her hands were bruised and dirty despite her gloves. She had no idea what her face looked like. Then Mei had a sudden realization: that didn't matter. Her appearance didn't matter. Kakashi and Guy and Lee, they couldn't care less what she looked like. And anyone else could think what they liked, because, most amazing of all, she didn't care either! She was beyond caring and it was freeing. Mei was still stunned by this thought when she looked up to meet her husband's eyes. Kakashi gave her a gentle smile that had her wrapped up in his eyes.

"Hey," Mei said breathlessly.

"Are you done for today?" Kakashi didn't ask anyone in particular but he never took his eyes off her. Mei forgot to answer; the only thing keeping her eyes open was the need to look at him. Had he always been this handsome or did some sort of madness proceed passing out from chakra exhaustion?

"We were just packing up," Guy replied when the couple didn't move.

"Would you like to join me for dinner?" Kakashi asked, as if she was finely dressed, perfectly presentable, and ready for a night out. She would have been, if she wasn't so tired. She blinked and almost fell asleep.

"I'm not sure I can move," Mei whispered back. She didn't want Guy to hear. A relaxed regard for her personal appearance did not take away her professional pride.

"Been there," Kakashi muttered. Louder he said, "Guy, I hope you don't mind if I whisk my wife away?"

Mei didn't have more than a moment to consider if Kakashi was being figurative or literal. All she could think was, how did he know that's exactly what she wanted? He stepped forward, swept her into his arms, and leapt away.

Mei gasped, gripping Kakashi's shoulders. The pain from her every part fully woke her in a flash of agony. Despite her husband's gentleness, her muscles screamed in protest. Mei groaned and put her head down.

"Am I hurting you?" Kakashi asked anxiously in her ear.

"No more than if I'd walked. Far less I'm sure," Mei gritted out. The fatigue of the day was catching up with her. She held onto her husband gratefully.

"Would you like an ice bath or a hot bath? Or both?"

"Ice bath? I'm already in pain, why would I want to bathe in ice?" Mei had never heard of this. It sounded insane.

"It's good for your sore muscles, at least that's what they used to tell us in ANBU. It brings the inflammation down but it hurts."

"Oh." Mei couldn't think of a worse idea than putting herself in more pain to ease this pain. "Maybe just a warm bath?"

"You got it."

It was getting hard to keep her head up. Everything felt heavy and wavy, like she was swimming.

The next thing Mei remembered was Kakashi closing her bedroom door. He still had her in his arms. She felt a little more coherent and thought to ask, "how was your day?"

"Troublesome, but seeing you made up for it." His smile turned mischievous and he added, "I missed you at lunch. And you spent the whole day with another man? People will talk." They shared a smile at his teasing. "That can be your excuse if you don't want to train with Guy again."

"No, I do," Mei said but then winced as she was set on her feet. They held onto each other as she got her footing. "Just maybe not in the near future."

"I understand," he said.

Mei believed him but she still wanted to clarify. "You used to train with Guy, didn't you?" She straightened up but Kakashi kept a hand on her, just in case. He didn't like the way she was swaying.

"Not all day, my mission schedule and ANBU training never allowed for that, but at times, yes."

"It's exhilarating."

"And exhausting," Kakashi agreed. "But my father always said that hard work would eventually beat talent and he was right. I aimed to do both so I'm a master of neither."

Mei was too tired to muster an argument against that statement. One couldn't master talent and besides- That was the last thing she remembered.

The next morning Mei woke in her bed to a knock on the door. The knock startled her out of sleep and when she jolted, everything hurt. Her muscles were so sore that she felt ill. Her body was like one large ache that was slowly being sunburnt. Maybe if she just stayed still, but no, that would be impossible. No amount of stillness could keep this fire at bay. The ice bath didn't seem so crazy now. The knock repeated and Mei called for the person to come in. Even her mouth and jaw hurt, how was that possible? Kakashi appeared, looking concerned.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He approached her bed looking apprehensive.

"I'm going to die here," Mei replied.

"I meant to give this to you last night," he held out a banana. She seized it despite her screaming muscles. "I also meant to draw you that bath but when you…fell asleep standing up, I called Sakura instead."

Mei munched on her banana silently, remembering times when she'd eaten them at home. The pain was less intense now that she was moving a bit. After swallowing she said, "I passed out?"

Kakashi made a little shrugging gesture.

Mei frowned at it. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Sakura eased your pain so you could sleep, she said you'd be fine." Kakashi smiled at her, revealing that he'd been scared but letting her know she shouldn't feel bad about it. "Are you going to be okay today?"

Mei finished her banana. "If you help me to the bathroom, yes." Kakashi assisted his wife into the bathroom, got her bathtub filling, and then left for work.

Mei soaked until her fingers looked shriveled and old. She took a nap and went back in after lunch. Misaki had brought her more bananas and a bento box with a note from Kakashi. "Hope to see you at dinner."

He did see her at dinner, but Mei gave herself extra time to get there. She was still stiff. "The second day's worse than the first," she admitted. "But it should get easier."

"That's good," Kakashi replied. "Because there's something I'd like to ask you about."

AN: we're at the beginning of the end folks. Thanks for reading!